Why does she keep doing that?
by Juud
Summary: Rich, handsome, tall, handsome, strong and especially handsome. Who would not want to be with the very prestigious Kuchiki Byakuya? That new girl, that's who. What is her problem and why won't she go out with him?
1. Prologue

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a handsome young boy who was just growing into adulthood. And this day, when our story starts, seemed just like any other. The night sky was dark and sparkles of the stars and the moon illuminated the water of the river the boy passed by. A gentle breeze played with the remaining leaves on the trees; it had been autumn for almost two months and the streets were covered with brown, yellow, orange and red colors.

Lifting his arms and putting his hands together behind his head, Kuchiki Byakuya strolled through the paths of Seireitei. It was just another quiet night and he found himself suffering from insomnia once more. As if his tiredness was not bad enough for him yet, he did not even care that he was strolling around in his pajamas, a green haori with purple and yellow flowers on it around his shoulders to keep him warm.

Being next in line of becoming the new head of his family, Byakuya did not waste a moment to brag about it to the rest of his family. His grandfather was going to retire soon. At least, Byakuya hoped it was soon. As his grandfather had told him, he wasn't going to stop until he believed Byakuya to be a hundred percent prepared.

He was in his fourth year at the academy. One more year to go and Byakuya would be a full-fledged Shinigami, with a position as a seated officer in the sixth division, where his grandfather was Captain, already reserved for him. How much more grown-up could he ever become?

It was when he thought about more ways of becoming an adult that he heard the sobs and cries for mercy cutting through the silence of the night. Byakuya's natural instincts took over and he quickly made his way to a shady, cliché ally, where a petite, dark haired damsel in distress with the largest and prettiest violet eyes he'd ever seen, was being harassed by three big, broad-shouldered men, because the bad guys always seem to be coming in three. They snored with laughter and the heaviness of their bodies on the floor thumped throughout the dark night as they walked around, stopping her from running to a small child.

Adjusting his haori so that it waved behind him in the wind, Byakuya positioned himself, chest up forward, shoulders back, chin in the air and arms folded. "Stop, you thieves of my peaceful evening! Cry no longer, milady, for I have come to rescue you!"

So I am asking you to picture this. Young Byakuya in Zorro's pose, green haori on top of blue PJ's with cute little white clouds on them, his hair a mess and not a weapon within hand's reach.

"Dah-dah-dummm," one of the men roared. The others followed the laughter with their own. "You guys, this man just made me pee me pants!"

"I can't breathe! He looks so stupid!" said the stupidest looking man.

"Does he even know who he is talking to?" the third said. "We rule these streets!"

"Do not fear much longer, beautiful," Byakuya said with just a wink of his eye, ignoring the three bullies. "I will take you away from here."

But the girl was long gone.

The three men walked away with the child in one of their arms, roaring and laughing, other arms around each other's shoulders and a bottle of sake in their hands, leaving a baffled Byakuya behind.

And so, this is the start of a story not too shabby for us. A story about a man who can get any woman by just snapping his fingers, except for the one mysterious and beautiful woman, that one girl who had disappeared into the night, the mysterious lady…

…he now fancied most.


	2. Two weeks later

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

Two weeks later

"Hey, Kuchiki! Looks like you're number one, again!"

Our protagonist, Kuchiki Byakuya, just came walking around the corner. He was headed towards the board that was updated every Monday, with a list of the ten highest scoring students in every class. Byakuya raised his eyebrows upon hearing his classmate's voice. "You sound surprised."

Of course he was on top of the list: he was a Kuchiki. Kuchiki's never failed at anything because they were best at everything. He was not going to see the list because he had to check if he _had_ made the top, he… actually really did not see the list. It just made him feel good to see that, indeed, nobody had been better at something than he was.

"Awh man if only I had your brains," another one of his classmate complained. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Byakuya smirk with great satisfaction. "I studied so hard, this is something I'm really good at. And I'm still two places below you."

"Study?" Byakuya mocked. "For this one test? No, I felt absolutely no need for that." Byakuya decided not to say anything about the rank the classmate had given himself. Maybe he was two places below on this list, but he was definitely not on the same list if Byakuya would make one. Can you imagine, an ordinary student from the lower districts, on the same list as a Kuchiki? Only the thought of it made him nauseated.

"Where are you going next?" the first classmate asked him, but Byakuya did not answer. He had seen the list and he had scored much higher in any subject than the person who had won second place (after all, intelligence is a competition and he was winning). He was satisfied. Without a word, he turned around and slowly walked to the doors that led to the Academy's inside garden, where most students sat for lunch. He had worked up quite the appetite and a good lunch was definitely on his schedule now.

Yes, he noticed the classmates who were following him. Perhaps idolizing him was a better word, Byakuya decided. If anything, he should not be followed but he should be used as an inspiration and people were absolutely inspired by his knowledge, powers and charisma. He had the whole package.

His fellow female students knew this, too. As Byakuya crossed the hallway to the doors that led outside, he ran into seven of those girls. Upon seeing him come closer, it seemed that the hormone Instant-Bimbo was activated in every single one of them. They moved their hair out of their faces and pulled down their neckline. Then they ran to him, all calling out his name. He did not treat them badly, Byakuya knew. They were all privileged to be allowed so close to him, making them happy, and the view (oh the view! He was very glad he was taller than any of them, so he had a legitimate reason to look down) made him very happy indeed. Soon, he had his arms wrapped around two girls and at the end of his arms, his hands were holding the hands of two more. The remaining three led the way out to the garden and shooed people away from their favorite patch of grass.

"You are too kind, maladies," Byakuya said in his deep, sexy voice that made all of their hearts skip three beats. With this company, lunch was always a great pleasure. He put down his bag against the tree and leant down in the grass. The girls sat themselves around him, their eyes feasting on his body and handsomeness. If eyes could drool, Byakuya would be floating away in saliva by now.

"Have some fruit, Kuchiki-dono," said one of them, offering her grapes to him (no, that's not a metaphor). He opened his mouth and took the grape, his lips brushing the girl's fingers. She shivered upon contact and let the saliva juices shake out of her bowl (yes metaphor).

After the grapes came parts of banana, slices of cheese and rolls of ham, toasted bread with freshly made butter and he was given apple juice from the apple tree that stood in the garden of one of the girl's homes. Over the next twenty minutes, Byakuya was fed until he'd had enough. Then he stood up, causing all the girls to pout their lower lips and make 'awww'-noises. But Byakuya smirked at them and gave them a little bow. "Thank you, ladies, for spending this lovely time with me." He took the hand of the apple juice girl and planted a soft kiss on it, before turning around and walking back into school. Just before the door closed after him, he heard the girls fight over who could touch the hand first.

Being utmost satisfied about his day, it only got better. He ran into one of his professors, who seemed utterly happy to see the young aristocrat. "Well, my my, Kuchiki-dono! Such good grades and such amazing results during classes, I can hardly believe that you have time left for such things as… well, as such lovely company!"

"Sensei," Byakuya bow, but only after making sure his teacher bowed first. "Thank you for your kinds words." It was only fair that they were spoken, but you had to give the lower people something to be happy about, like, for example, giving them a compliment or saying 'thank you', even when there is no actual reason for it.

"I was wondering," the teacher started. Byakuya raised his eyebrow. Was he going to ask him, Kuchiki Byakuya, a favor? Of course, he had many things the simple-minded and meager living professor did not have anything of value, perhaps maybe the basics of several basic footwork techniques. The man continued. "I was hoping you could help me in one of my classes in a couple of days. One of my students is unable to master this Kidou-spell and I can only give her so much of my time…"

How the simple ones always try to be nice, is something Byakuya could not quite grasp. But a woman in need? That definitely sounded like a job for him. Of course he had the qualifications for it: he was excellent in Kidou, no matter what spell. The other day, he mastered a blast high level fifty spell without having to say the incantation, first. "Yes, I will help."

The teacher gave a sigh in relieve. "Thank you very much, it will do her well! I will see you Friday, then. You wonderful man, thank you again!"

Byakuya caught himself with both eyebrows raised. He frowned immediately, reciting his lines from home: '_an eyebrow raised is a Kuchiki dazed_'. Needless to say, a Kuchiki dazed is not a good thing. If only the eyebrow-raising thing didn't make him even more attractive than he already was…

Of course, this is the point in the story where Byakuya has to look dazed for a moment. He was certain that he had brought a bag with him. In it were books he already knew from heart, of course, but it seemed less arrogant if he did bring them to class with him. Then Byakuya remembered putting it against the tree before lunch, and he cursed himself. _'If there is something you forgot, your dignity will rot'. _

Hoping his fangirls – or female companions, for the sake of the feminists among them – had already left so he would not be bothered again, he headed back to the garden. They had, thank goodness for that. But what he saw there was more than his bag. More than something he had forgotten: more than even his dreams.

"Hey!"

The raven-haired beauty jumped up when he screamed at her. You can't blame her, because the inside garden is not large and he yelled out of nowhere… standing two meters away from her. "Hey you're that girl!"

'That girl' looked at him with big violet eyes, where her irises had been replaced by question marks. "Do I know you?"

This fell in the wrong place. How could she not know him? "I am Kuchiki Byakuya," he stated, getting down on one knee in front of her. "I saved you from those thugs two weeks ago."

The girl widened her eyes, the question marks changing into exclamation marks. "Oh!" was the only thing she said.

"Yes, I get that a lot," Byakuya smirked to her, his eyes searching for hers. They did not seem to search for his: perhaps she was too shy. "My fair lady, I have been looking for you everywhere I went these past weeks. Now that I have found you, would you please do me the pleasure of telling me your name?"

She looked at him, baffled, pulling back her knees so he wouldn't be so close anymore. She then looked at the girl sitting next to her (had she been there all along? He forgot to notice her. Odd enough, because she's the kind of girl he'd notice first. With the body parts he would notice first.) and then she nodded faintly. "My name is Hisana."

"Hi, I am Matsumoto Rangiku," the girl next to 'that girl' said. But Byakuya held no interest in the nicely shaped woman. He only had eye for Hisana. "Hisana, Hisana. Oh how that name rings in my ear as the birds who whistle upon building a nest."

The girl, Hisana, wore a very surprised expression on her face. "Thank you… for distracting them?" she murmured softly. She must be awed by my personal attention, Byakuya concluded. He reached out for her hand and took it, eyeing every move she made. Upon touch, she flinched back and gave her hand a tug back, but Byakuya was stronger, of course, and he knew that she did not want him to let go but hold her tighter. So he did. "Beautiful Hisana, would you please honor me in joining me for a drink this evening? I shall pick you up and walk you back, so you will arrive home safely."

The other girl, Matsumoto, squealed from joy. "Oh Hisana-san! You lucky girl!"

Byakuya agreed. Hisana was a very lucky girl, to have brought the attention of him onto her. A very lucky girl indeed, he thought to himself. Because he treats women excellent, respects their every wish and need. This he all thought while he held her hand tighter and tried to lock his intense gaze closer.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't," Hisana replied. She threw Byakuya off guard and she took this opportunity to pull back her hand. "I have other things to do."

Black spots appeared on his field of view, but Byakuya was quick to shake them away. She obviously had made other plans and was very upset that she had to reject him. It's like she said, she's sorry.

"Then you shall accompany me tomorrow evening. Or Friday evening. Or any evening you are available." Did he just catch himself begging? Why yes, he did. But she was gorgeous, he had to have her near his side.

"I'm sorry, I have a class, now," Hisana said, standing up. She quickly glanced over to Matsumoto, who had her eyes open in disbelieve, and then executed a quick bow to Byakuya. "Thank you for your offer, but I must decline."

Then, she ran away. Byakuya stood up and ran after her, but once inside, he did not see which way she had gone off to. He decided to take his chance and take a left, and then a right, and then three ways straight on, and then another left and another left and then a right. But the girl was nowhere to be found.

As Byakuya tried to find his way back into the class he would have next, he realized he had still left his bag outside. _'If you forget something a second time, don't come home 'cause it's a Kuchiki-crime'._


	3. It is rejection?

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

Is it rejection?

It was a very beautiful morning to Byakuya. Truth to be told, the rain was not making the day pretty and the dark clouds that hung dramatically over the Academy were not making the day pretty, and the muddy entrance that the school's entry courtyard had become was definitely not pretty. But to Byakuya, this was _the_ day. Even the Kidou-practices would be cancelled due to heavy winds. No student in his or her rind mind would go outside today.

That meant that Hisana probably stayed inside, as well. And Byakuya was determined to find her today.

From the moment he had seen her, that faithful day before yesterday, he knew that she was the one girl he had to marry. And why would she say no? She would be very fortunate to be his wife; he was a handsome, strong and wealthy man with a powerful future awaiting him. He was not just the aspiring head of the household of the most prestigious family that Seireitei had ever seen; he would also be captain, making him a first-class hero. Now who would not want to gossip with other ladies about her husband Mr. Eyecandy?

He had searched for her yesterday, but with no success. He had bought her flowers, though. Beautiful expensive flowers with tons of pretty colors, all of which would fade in beauty when compared to Hisana's deep colored eyes, those big watery wells he could just fall into.

Perhaps it was too early to propose, though. Didn't delayed desire make love grow stronger? He would have her wait for him, first. He was not sure for how long exactly: maybe a day or two, a week, tops.

Byakuya checked himself in the mirror before he got out of his small private dorm room of the campus. He could sleep at home, of course, but he felt selfish to deprive people of his personal attention and company. He wanted his own room, though. He would not think about who he should have to share a bunk bed with. Byakuya smirked at himself and gave the mirror a wink. He was so very generous to everyone.

He walked out of the door, his flowers in his hand. Where would he go look for her? Yesterday, he had tried locating her dorm room; was she sharing it with that big breasted girl? Maybe not knowing this or not finding her was his punishment for not paying attention to what was going on in Hisana's life. What year was she in? What classes did she take? Was she in advanced or average classes? Did she eat in the communal hall or at her own room? Where did she cook, in the shared kitchen or in a wing-specific kitchen?

Byakuya decided to try the library. There was only one of them and she was bound to go there sometime, right? After walking around for a while, he realized he had no idea where the library was. Why would he ever go there? He did not need books from the public when he had his own small library with every book he wanted back home. Without dirty commoner's fingerprints all over them.

Suddenly, a thought raced through his mind. What if Hisana was a commoner? He had not really thought about that before. Would he mind if she were? Could she learn everything there was to know about the well esteemed life of nobility? Certainly she would want to live with him. She could never expect him to throw away his pending career to live on the streets, right? That would be utterly ridiculous. With him, she'd get her own private servant, to grant her every wish. She'd have his money to buy herself whatever she wants and she'd have so much power over all the other aristocrats. Yes, she would want that. Because she was a woman and this is what women want. Plus, of course, access to his smoking hot body. Byakuya knew he was the perfect man.

During his wandering around, lost in thoughts, he found himself suddenly standing in front of the Academy's library. He sneaked a peek inside to see if she was sitting there, but the walls and bookcases hid most seats from his view. He really had to go in, then. Can you imagine, a Kuchiki mingling among the commoners in a public place… It had its charms, Byakuya decided. Mingling should not become a habit, though.

He walked through the small aisles of books and magazines and notes, looking around all he could so he would not miss a spot. He was close to the end of this aisle, and had almost given up hope for the library, when he spotted her.

She was sitting near the windows, two big books in front of her and papers spread all around her on the floor. She was busy cutting a picture and taping it in her book, which looked like a scrapbook. Then she took a pencil to copy down some lines next to it. She was so caught up in her work that Byakuya found himself having enough time to stare at her for a moment.

He was analyzing every breath she took, memorizing every move she made and tried to hold her intense gaze. What could she be working on? There was only one way to find out.

"Would you mind if I joined you?"

Hisana gave a small shriek and dropped her pencil. She looked up to him with big eyes, probably from surprise. Byakuya did not usually personally address one woman more than once every two weeks. Maybe one week, if he felt generous. She must be feeling special, which she absolutely was.

"Uhm, yes, actually. I'm quite busy," she apologized. "But there is plenty of room on that table over there," she added, pointing to a spot close to the entrance.

"Excellent idea," Byakuya replied, bending down to pick up her books. She tried to protest, he assumed, that he should not bother with him carrying her stuff, but he did not allow her to speak this. "You are right; you and I should not be sitting on the floor."

Hisana heaved a deep sigh and grabbed together the papers from the ground. Reluctantly, she followed him to the table she had approved only seconds ago.

Putting down the books with his one hand, Byakuya used his other to shove back a chair. "For milady," he said in the most charming voice he could muster. She would be drooling all over him in minutes, now, he was certain. Only after she had sat down, Byakuya took a chair himself. It was an act of chivalry to let the woman sit first, after all. Chivalries were something Byakuya was an expert in. "So tell me, what is it you are working on?"

Hisana opened her book on the page she had been working on and folded her separated papers into it. "It's personal a personal photo album, really. Nothing school-related."

"That is okay," Byakuya kept the conversation going. "I am more than interested to get to know you better, Hisana. You can tell me anything."

"Oh," Hisana replied absentmindedly. "Okay, thank you, Byakuya_-sama_," she said, emphasizing the honorific at the end of his name. Byakuya was not sure if it meant that she wanted him to call her with one as well or if she was telling him how much she appreciated his attention. "Thank you for your time, but I have to go now." She stood up before Byakuya knew what was going on and left the library, leaving Byakuya to sit alone at an empty table, the flowers forgotten in his hands.

He was smart, he really was. After Hisana had run away again, Byakuya dropped his flowers into the lap of the woman sitting nearest to him ("Oooh thank you so much!") and he went to chase Hisana. She could not find out, of course, that an honored man like himself should actually _work_ to learn about her. What was it with her and running away, anyway?

While he kept an eye on her back, walking away quickly, he felt for her reiatsu. It was not strong, fragile even, but now at least he would know how to find her sooner next time. Already, her reiatsu felt safe and familiar. She must be exerting this feeling herself, Byakuya thought bemused. She liked him for sure.

Turning around a corner Hisana had turned only seconds ago, he found himself standing in a square hall with at least twenty different doors. In the middle of the hall stood a large table with as many chairs as there were doors. Several students occupied one, but there was still plenty of space left. This must be the hall where Hisana's dorm room was located. Hisana herself was nowhere to be seen, though.

Byakuya considered asking the students at the table, but it would mean that he needed their help. He did, of course, but he could not show this to them. Help from second-year students, it was laughable. He would just have to come back later.

And 'coming back later' he did. He knew where his mistake lay the previous time: the flowers had not attracted her attention in any way. She probably would be happier with a new book for her scraps of paper and notes; hers had looked very old and torn. So Byakuya had bought her a new one. Prettier than the one she had now, with a flower pattern embedded on the sides. She could write her name on a nametag, to make it personal. And a box of chocolates. Women love chocolates.

He had figured out a strategy of how to find her. He went to sit at the table in the middle of the hall where her room was. He had brought a book (from his own library, thank you very much) and sat to read, his eyes jumping to the entrance every time someone entered. It took a while before he spotted her, though.

But he spotted her, alright. She came out of her room with a bag of garbage in her hands. She was about to drop it in a bin, when Byakuya took it from her and dropped it where it belonged. "A woman such as yourself should not be bothered with dirty work like this," he said to her, holding out his arm for her to reach.

But she didn't. This was Byakuya's clue to believing she actually was a commoner: she was probably telling herself how she was not worthy of him. "I have brought you something."

"Oh, that's kind of you," Hisana said. But when Byakuya walked back to the table to get the wrapped packages, Hisana walked back to her dorm. "I have to get back to work, though. I'm sorry."

She wanted to close the door, but Byakuya was faster. He stood in front of her and offered her the book and box. She looked surprised and did not take them from him, so he decided to help her out. He took off the wrapping and showed her what it was. "It's a new book where you can put your personal thoughts in, like I saw you do this morning. And here are some chocolates."

"Listen," Hisana started, her voice a bit more pitched than usual. "You are really kind and very generous, but I don't need a new book. Thank you for your consideration, but it's really not necessary."

Byakuya did not know how to reply. How was that possible? No other woman had ever left him speechless before; he usually did that to them. He shook his head. "I have been trying to get you the perfect gift, Hisana. I am sorry I have yet to find the right one. Tell me what you want and I will get it for you."

"Anything?" she asked.

"Anything," he replied.

Then he watched her close the door.


	4. Perhaps pay attention

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

Perhaps pay attention?

Yes, he thought he handled that well. After Hisana had shut the door on him two days before, Byakuya had sincerely tried to leave her alone. He could recognize any hint thrown at him. He could not deny that he was hurting a little, or had been, until he realized that she just did _not_ understand hints. She must have misunderstood whatever it was he wanted from her. He did not need to get married immediately; it could wait a while. A couple of months, perhaps a year… There was a gnawing feeling in his chest upon thinking this, though, but he chose to ignore it.

There was another gnawing feeling, but this one was of irritation. He was working on the favor the teacher had asked him to do last Monday, or, well, trying to do so. It was hard to train a girl when the girl had chosen to not show up. Class had started only minutes ago, but she had quite some nerves if she dared to let Kuchiki Byakuya wait for her. Doesn't she understand that every moment wasted is a moment further away from Hisana? He had to think of the perfect way to ask her out, a way she couldn't resist, but he could not concentrate while feeling so stood up with his dignity crumbled.

What would his next move be? Apparently, she had not liked the material gifts he had offered her. But what else would a woman want? Flowers, chocolates, perhaps a romantic date? The flowers had failed him, as had the chocolates. She did not want a new scrapbook, so he could scratch that off his list. The romantic date was what was left. But how would that go? He usually did not go on dates, he just looked a woman in the eye and she'd willingly go home with him. Dates were a waste of time on those girls. But this girl, this Hisana… he wanted to get to know her better. Perhaps that is why people go on dates.

Byakuya was finally starting to get on with his thoughts when the door of the practice dojo opened and Hisana came running in, her bag wide open and papers falling out of them. While bending down to pick them up, she wiped her eyes and forehead and apologized over and over for being late.

The teacher walked over to her and helped her with the papers, some pens and multiple scraps of paper on which she had written notes, before he started scolding her. "You might be a hardworking student, miss Hisana, but you have been told that I would get you an excellent tutor for today's lesson. You have made him wait and that is unacceptable. You better make this lesson worth his time and master this spell before the end of class, otherwise I will have you come over during the weekend to practice more."

"No, sir, please," Hisana begged, "I cannot practice during the weekends. I could stay late today, and come in early on Monday, I could…" It was all she could say before she would burst into tears. But it was Byakuya to the rescue. "It is alright," he told the teacher while putting a hand on his shoulder. He then took Hisana's items from him and brought them to Hisana's bag. "She was with me the previous evening, she has been studying hard. I am sure that she will do fine with today's assignment."

The teacher scratched his head and then made a quick bow to the young aristocrat. "Very well, then. If you don't mind…"

"I don't," Byakuya replied. He then turned his back on the teacher and focused on Hisana. "It is wonderful that I meet you again, my fair lady," he said, bowing slightly. Hisana had not seen it, though, because she was stuffing her properties back in her bag. Byakuya cleared his throat, received a quick glance and he made sure that she would see his bow during those three seconds.

"So tell me about that spell you have troubles with," Byakuya asked her, in a way he believed was very gently. He had been very surprised to see that she had been the girl he needed to tutor, but after coming over his first shock, he was very much pleased. This was his perfect opportunity to show her how much of a gentleman he could be and make her realize that she needed him so.

Apparently, Hisana chose to not talk about their previous meeting. She started on her Kidou immediately. "It's basic, really. Kidou is my weak point, I just cannot seem to be able to concentrate my reiatsu."

"But who needs a strong blast of Kidou when you've got beautiful eyes, like those, and a very capable man willing to protect you from any harm, like myself?" Byakuya asked, sincerely. He achieved more with it than he expected, though: Hisana chuckled. He did not know that she laughed for all the wrong reasons. "Listen, I really would like to be able to do this. Can you help me?"

"Of course," Byakuya said while watching another opportunity come up. "Listen, I have been having some problems, myself."

"Oh?" Hisana asked, her full attention on him for the very first time ever. It was only then that he saw just how deep he could see into her eyes, yet how little he could see into her soul. She had beautiful, big violet eyes he could swim in, though that may be weird. Her face was uneven: her left cheek was slightly rounded bigger than her right cheek, as if something had been broken in the past. She had the cutest little nose he could give butterfly kisses to all night long and still not grow tired of it. But her eyes, her eyes still got his attention. He felt his heart beat harder and harder, the sound of her voice being replayed in his ears, over and over again. His knees wobbled when he tried to approach her, while he could not remember the last time he had been this unstable. He felt like flying, while his chest felt heavy, as if the only thing capable of lifting its painful weight was Hisana in his arms. What were all those feelings?

"Would you like to tell me about it?" she asked, sincerely gently. How did she do that? Was she really that kind? She looked at him with concern in her eyes: was she truly worried? She seemed to have forgotten her own purpose of this class, which really was to solve _her_ problems.

Suddenly, the pick-up line he was going for seemed cheesy and stupid. His problem would have been an empty seat on the dinner table the next evening, with the request of her filling the vacancy of it. But he made her worry and he needed to soothe her, right now. "No, it is nothing. I just figured it out."

"Ah, good," Hisana said, the worry leaving her eyes. She averted them immediately, making Byakuya fall back to solid ground. He shook his head wildly to focus back on the here and now. Where had his mind been off to? "What do you suggest we do?" she asked.

"What do we do, now?" Byakuya asked, still trying to get all his attention back. "Oh, right, yes, Kidou. Yes. How about you show me Hadou 31? It is an easy one to get started with."

Hisana seemed a little uncomfortable, but she adjusted her body into firing position. At the other side of the dojo, a dummy was located for practicing. She took a deep breath and started mumbling the incantation. Byakuya only understood half of what she was saying, mainly because he only understood because he knew the incantation by heart. Her hands were crossed in front of her, her arms extended to their full lengths. Her feet stood apart, as much apart as her hips were wide. That was a strong position, that was good. It could be better, Byakuya wrote as a mental note, but before he would advise her, he would see how it would go.

"Hadou 31: Shakkaho!" Hisana said suddenly, her voice clear but soft. A small ball of red light formed, but when Hisana looked at it with a frown on her face, it imploded and threw her off balance. Byakuya was quick to shunpo behind her, to prevent her from falling hard on the floor. "Thanks," she muttered.

"I think I have seen enough for us to work with," Byakuya said, letting go of her arm after realizing he still held it. "Take your position again?"

Hisana obliged. She put her feet apart as before and stretched out her arms, just like before. Byakuya was very close to touching her to adjust her position, when he changed his mind. Hisana had made very clear that she did not want him so close and that she might even be intimidated by him. After all, he was strong, tall, broad, rich, intelligent and famous. And handsome, don't forget handsome. And this all in one person: no wonder she was scared. But he would consider her feelings. "May I?"

This question seemed to surprise her, but Hisana nodded. Byakuya then stood beside her, copying the way she placed her legs. "They're good and you are protected from a side-way blow. But not from one from behind or from your front," he explained, pushing the part between her shoulder blades. She stumbled a bit but then steadied herself. Then Byakuya put his left foot further in front of him and his right foot a bit behind him, so that his feet were diagonally apart. "Try this," he asked her. She mimicked. When Byakuya decided that she stood strong enough, he pushed the same place again and Hisana kept standing in her strong position. She seemed utterly pleased with herself. It brought a happy tingling in Byakuya's chest.

"Excellent. Try this the following time you aim. Next, your hands." Byakuya, again, copied Hisana's position, but now placed his palms next to each other instead of over each other. "This way, you have a larger area you can concentrate your reiatsu in," he explained. Without any trouble, he formed a ball of red light to show her. Her eyes widened in admiration, he guessed (and he was right, this time).

This way, they filled the whole hour. At the end of it, Hisana's position was strong and she held her head high in confidence (which looked positively adorable). She had even worked on her pronunciation after Byakuya had pointed out he barely understood the words she had spoken. And by the end of the lesson, she fired an excellent ball of red light. Her aim was way off, but she had made very much progress.

"Very good job," Byakuya congratulated her when the bell rang. "You work on your aim a bit more and you will ace this one." Hisana glowed upon hearing the compliments. She deserved them, Byakuya thought. She's appreciating them even more, probably, because they came from him. He decided that his question had to be asked now. "Hisana? Would you celebrate your victory with me, tonight?"

Byakuya was absolutely certain that he saw her considering this, but much to his dismay, she shook her head. "Thank you for your invitation, but I have to get up early tomorrow morning. And thank you again for this class, I would still not be able to do this one without your help."

"You're welcome," Byakuya said. He tried not to show how much her decline had hurt him. He had been so sure that she liked him now, that she knew that it was okay to act upon her feelings. "Would you like another lesson this weekend? I could teach you things that will impress your teacher next lesson!"

But Hisana smiled and turned her back. She left without saying another word to him.


	5. Time for tea

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

Time for tea

One glance at his alarm clock told him that it was 3 AM. This surprised him: Byakuya usually never forgot time. Perhaps it he should go to bed now. His eyes went around the room. What a mess he had made… if he was going to invite Hisana over for tea tomorrow, his dorm room should be perfectly clean and organized for her.

He had been working on his plan all night long. He would be charming and handsome, but while doing so, he was going to put real effort into it this time. There was never any need to before, because it was his lovely personality that gave him all any woman would ever want; but somewhere along the past week, Byakuya had started to realize that Hisana was not just 'any woman'. He actually had to do something to get her attention, and he had figured out what it was.

She had seemed genuinely awed and grateful when he had helped her with her Kidou practice. She had also seemed sincerely worried when he lied to her about him having a problem. Because he could not think of a way to make her help him with a problem, since let's be honest, why would Kuchiki Byakuya be troubled by anything or anyone? and because he did not want to worry her again, he thought to take her out on a date. The thing was, and this was not a problem but just a thing, that Hisana had declined any date he had brought up.

The perfect solution had come to him when he prepared for bed: tea. The idea was so very simple, he completely understood why his brilliant mind had not come up with it before. Everybody enjoyed tea. Hisana was classy in her own way, and Byakuya knew that everyone with a little class liked this beverage. He had also thought of what to talk about: he would ask her about her training and her skills, what she was really good at and what she might need help with. If she would point something out, Byakuya would, being the talented gentleman he is, tell her he could help her and thereby creating new ways to spend time together.

But he needed sleep, first. If he would be even more sleep deprived, perhaps it would not do well on his fair complexion. He was not sure of this because he had never been sleep deprived _because_ of his fear for his fair complexion, but he was not going to find out now.

His dreams brought him into a world where he was admired by all, yet when he came close to anyone, they would turn around and run away. This confused him, because even in his dreams he was the perfect man he knew he was. One of the people in his dreams was small, fragile and faceless, yet he knew perfectly well who it represented. The figure kept running away, never showing a face, never looking back. Searching for something, but somehow, Byakuya knew that he was not the answer.

Byakuya awoke that morning in a hot bed, covered in sweat. Sweat definitely did not do his complexion well; not this kind of sweat. The sweat he got from training, that made him even more attractive, of course. He kicked off his sheets and sat up straight. He should take a shower, and a good one. For this he collected his shampoo, conditioner, scrubs, scented soaps, even a pair of tweezers for those darned stray hairs (those of which existence Byakuya never understood. Perhaps those strays were his one flaw.) because he had to look his absolute best.

After his steamy shower, he stepped out and got dressed. He had chosen his favorite casual pieces of clothing. Today was Saturday and so he should not dress up as a warrior. Maybe the uniform had thrown her off before; maybe she had to see him in his fancy casual nobility-gear. By showing her this, she would finally realize what she needed. He would become her answer.

Next, he went for breakfast in a small campus café. It was served to him, fresh and warm, and he enjoyed the late sunrise. He was so caught up in it, that he almost missed the biggest part of his plan.

Hisana was walking in that same sun, her noisy friend alongside her. Byakuya jumped up and ran outside, throwing some money on the counter along his way. He just saw her disappear behind a corner, to which he shunpoed to catch up with her. "Hisana!" he said loudly but not too loud, because _a Kuchiki shouting is dishonor sprouting._ Luckily, Hisana turned around upon hearing her name. She gave out a big sigh when she looked at him. This must be relieve, she must dread her present company and she's glad that he's offering her a better alternative.

"I would like to ask you a favor," Byakuya said, showing off his practiced skills of last night. A favor to ask, how ridiculously laughable. Thank goodness for practice. "Would you like to join me for a modest cup of tea?"

She looked at him and then back at her friend. "Uhm," she started, "thanks, but I'm going to Rukongai today."

Byakuya fought the urge to step in between her and the way there. "Rukongai? That's a dangerous place for a lady as breathtakingly beautiful as yourself."

"She's not alone," her friend said, but Byakuya dismissed her with a simple but nasty glare.

"You cannot be serious," Byakuya continued, looking back to Hisana. "What business could be more pressing than your own safety?"

Hisana laughed softly. "Thank you for your concern, but I would still like to go."

The gears in Byakuya's head were spinning as fast as they could, but they had trouble trying to hide their annoyance at her not reacting to his fancy casual clothing at all. Then an idea came up to him. "There must be someplace there we could have tea in Rukongai. I shall join you there."

He thought the tone in his voice would make her friend disappear, but the contrary was true. She wrapped her arm around Hisana's and made gestures to leave. But, Byakuya thought, whatever she can do, I can do. And better. With more grace. he extended his arm to Hisana, inviting her to take it. But Hisana just smiled politely and went with the noisy friend. A sharp sting went through Byakuya's entire body upon the rejection. He had heard of this, but never expected to be it himself. Was he about to experience being the third wheel?

"Listen, Kuchiki-sama," Hisana said, her voice soft. "You don't have to tag along with us. I expect you to find our activities boring and I am certain that you have tons of other things to spend your _valuable_ time with."

"Nonsense," Byakuya responded. "No matter what I shall engage myself with, my thoughts remain to linger with you and thus I shall protect you on your, what should I call it, lady's day out?"

Hisana almost seemed happy with this reaction. "Yes, that's exactly it! Rangiku and I have been planning this girls night out for days now and I have been very much looking forward to it."

"We planned this days ago?" her friend asked, but Hisana poked her elbow in her friend's stomach. Did she find her rude? "Ah, yes," Hisana continued. "We really wish to talk about… eh, nail polish and trends concerning this summer's hairdos. And other female things. You shall be bored to the core."

"My fair lady," Byakuya said, making a little bow to Hisana. "Your concern about my amusement is unnecessary. I shall enjoy any activity when I can be in your company."

"Let's go," Hisana's friend said, pulling Hisana by the arm and rubbing her own stomach. "He's not going to cave, just let him come."

"Fine," Hisana sighed. She turned around and started walking again, not paying attention to either her friend or to Byakuya.

"You know," her friend started. Byakuya chose to ignore her for the time being, but upon hearing her next words, he became interested. "Your attempts to date her have failed so far, haven't they?"

"How dare you," Byakuya said, but he noticed the doubt in his own voice. He fell silent for a second, but then succumbed to his emotions. "What is it that I am doing wrong?"

"She's timid," her friend said. For the first time, Byakuya paid his full attention on this friend. If she proved herself useful now, he might decide to ask (and remember) her name, later this day. "You are too forward with her, and it's scaring her off."

"I have done nothing different than what I have done with any other woman who wanted my attention," Byakuya responded, undignified.

"Perhaps not, but have you considered that she might not even want your attention?"

Byakuya stopped in his tracks. He had never even let it go through his mind that she never wanted to be with him. Because that was not possible. It could not be possible. But maybe this friend _was_ on to something and it was worth exploring her insight. Byakuya gathered his courage and asked, "what makes you think that?"

"I know her," the friend answered. "Do you?"

"Of course I do," Byakuya spat. "I would never spend so much time on a woman I barely know."

"Then tell me this," the friend continued. "What are her dreams?"

This question threw Byakuya off guard. "I suspect-"

He was rudely interrupted. "That's wrong. You don't suspect, you ask."

Byakuya glanced one more time at the friend again and then fell into deep thought. It is true, he never truly asked Hisana about herself. What did he know? He knew she was very beautiful and he knew that he wanted to be with her. He also knew that Kidou is her weak point and that she's very generous and interested in the well-being of others. But, he had to admit, those are things anybody could tell you if they had spent a week in her presence.

"Perhaps you are right," Byakuya admitted, and upon doing so felt a sense of relieve washing over him. He knew what to do. "Would you mind allowing me to accompany her to Rukongai by myself?"

The friend raised her eyebrows, pondered about this for a second and then nodded. "But if she comes back and she's unhappy about her day with you, I shall feed her all sorts of false information after which she would never want to speak to you again. Am I clear?"

"You are brave, defying me like that," Byakuya responded, anger in his voice. "I shall let it go because your concern is Hisana and we share that concern. If your advice is helpful to me, I shall reward you adequately."

The friend giggled. "Just make her smile, I haven't seen her give a proper one in ages."

Byakuya nodded. "I will do whatever it takes."

"Be careful with her."

Byakuya nodded once more before deciding he did want her name. "Thank you…"

"Matsumoto Rangiku," she said. Then she ran to Hisana, who was still pacing in front of them, obviously not having heard their conversation, and tapped her shoulder. Byakuya heard things like 'forgot' and 'appointment' and 'homework' and 'so so sorry!'. But she was clever and from this moment on, Byakuya appreciated this Matsumoto-girl a lot more.

Matsumoto ran away and gave a quick wink upon passing Byakuya. The air became very silent around him and he realized that, for the first time, he was truly alone with Hisana. No people around them in class or on campus, but just the two on them on the empty roads to Rukongai.

He went to walk next to Hisana, making sure he kept at least five feet distance between them. He would try being less forward with her. He would do anything.


	6. A minty freshness

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

A minty freshness

He had never been in a more depressing place before. The things he could barely call 'houses' had collapsed, but, to his utter dismay, were still in use. Little children with more skin than flesh on their bones were running in and out of those fragile constructions. They were barely dressed and many scars had already settled on their innocent bodies. Byakuya averted his eyes, but it did not improve. People lay in their own vomit, knocked out, insects on their heads and arms. He could not imagine living here. He averted his eyes again, but now only saw men arguing, fighting, while children and trembling women were watching. Blood was spilled, a tooth was lost, the women started crying, and the children ran away screaming in terror. Byakuya averted his eyes once more to the only thing he knew was worth watching.

Hisana.

She was walking next to him, but seemed oblivious to everything that happened around them. She was looking around a bit, engaging him into small talk now and again, but mostly, she was looking around as if searching for something.

The voice of that Matsumoto-girl entered Byakuya's mind. _"You don't suspect, you ask."_ Would he cross a line if he asked what she was doing in a place like this? Especially if he had asked her to come to his place, where luxury was the way to live? Not the luxury per se, Byakuya mused as Hisana pushed him aside so they would not get involved in an ongoing fight along their way, but safety, a homely environment. He figured that he could always ask. "What is your business here?"

"Hmm?" Hisana asked, seemingly surprised with the question. "Oh, nothing special, don't worry."

"I find that hard to believe," Byakuya replied. "I do not believe that you would come here just for the scenery and fresh air."

Hisana said nothing, but chuckled instead. She then went around a large building and led him into a quieter street. "You know, I come from this district."

Byakuya stopped walking for a second, but quickly matched her pace again. So she really was a commoner. Strangely enough, it did not change anything for him. He still felt the urge in his chest to just pull her into a tight embrace and lead her to his safe home to love the crap out of her. "Living here must have been awful."

She nodded. "Yeah, it really was… I was lucky enough to escape to the Academy. I hope to build a better life, soon."

Byakuya nodded. Deep inside, he knew he should not ask what he was going to, but he could not resist. "This life you want to build… do you see that life involving a certain someone?"

It was Hisana's turn to stop walking. No, Byakuya noticed, she hadn't just stopped walking. She was nailed to the ground, her muscles had stiffened, and her eyes wider than he had ever seen before. "What?" she peeped in a soft voice.

"Do you," Byakuya said, taking a step back. Had he ruined another chance with her? "Do you see yourself living with… a friend, perhaps?"

"Oh," Hisana said, releasing the tension in her body. "Oh, well, uhm, I never thought much about that."

"This better life you are building is just for you?" Byakuya asked, trying to sound sincere and not judging.

"Hm, no, not really, but those are things to discuss when time is there," Hisana said, avoiding eye contact. She turned another corner. "You said tea, right? Here's a nice place to have some."

Byakuya frowned, but he let the matter rest for now. He pushed open the door and allowed Hisana to go in first. He followed and then feasted his eyes on the place she had shown him. It was nothing like the outside that he had just experienced. It was nice, even serene. There were a few tables, which were all in sight when you enter the store, but you would have the privacy of three walls around the tables when you would sit down. It was cozy, with warm colored furniture and friendly employers who welcomed them in the moment they entered.

Hisana led the way to one of the tables nearest to the outer walls. They had a perfect view of the outside world from their seats. They had just sat down when someone came by to take their orders. "Welcome to TeaCafe, what can I get you?"

Hisana ordered a mint tea with honey. Byakuya, having never had mint tea with honey, asked for the same, curiously looking over to his companion. "If I do not like this, you will have to finish it for me."

Hisana giggled. "That's fine. I hope you like it, though; tea can't get better than this one."

Byakuya watched the waitress walk away and then went back to observing Hisana. "Where were we?" he asked. "You are building a life."

"Ah," Hisana answered, "yes, but I think we've discussed my life enough for now. I barely know anything about you."

This was a surprise to Byakuya. Until now, she had never shown much interest in him. What changed? "Fair enough. What would you like to know?"

"Well," she started, "just tell me something about yourself. All I know is that you are an excellent student and that you made almost the entire female population of campus upset because you've stopped giving your… attention to them." She smiled a cheeky smile to him. "Oh," she said, raising a finger. "And you're thoughtful. In your own way, but you are thoughtful."

It surprised him that she knew this. Apparently, she had paid more attention to him that he originally thought. He considered the things he could tell her. Was there anything in his conversation with that Matsumoto-girl of earlier that day? All he could think of was that he approached her too directly. Is there something too direct in telling her about himself? He thought not.

"I shall start with simple things," he announced. "When I was born, I became first in line to become head of my household and with that, High Advisor of the houses of nobility. My mother died at childbirth and my father soon after in battle on a mission. He was second seat of the sixth division, but I will follow the footsteps of my grandfather. I have already surpassed my father's abilities and after graduation, I shall be appointed as the fourth seat in the sixth division."

While he was talking, Hisana started supporting her head with her hands. Now that he stopped, he eagerly awaited her response. Now that he had told her all his worthy traits, should she not be more excited that he had such interest in her?

"Oh," came the reply. Byakuya raised his eyebrows, despite of what he had been taught. She did not seem impressed; au contraire. He almost dared not think it, but she almost seemed bored.

"Oh?" he repeated, somewhat offended. "Does my story not entertain you?"

Hisana raised her head from her hands and sat up straight. "It's not that," she started, but was interrupted by the waitress, bringing their tea. Byakuya took a moment to look at the beverage presented to him. It was just hot water with leaves in it. It did not look very special and he did not quite understand why Hisana had been so happy to have a cup. He saw a small amount of honey in a small cup next to his tea, which he could pour in to meet his own favorable taste, he guessed. He heard Hisana thank the waitress and then she took the cup of honey and poured the contents of it in her leafy drink. He mimicked her, but only poured in half of the honey. Just like her, he started stirring the tea, watching the hot water grow slightly green.

"It's not that it doesn't interest me," Hisana continued as if they had not been disturbed, "but that's stuff I think everybody knows, as long as they pay a little attention."

"Yes, me and my prospects are quite famous," Byakuya could not help but brag. "But they were not among the things you listed as things you knew about me."

Hisana smiled. He liked her smile: it made her even prettier than she already was. And today, she seemed to smile more than other days. "I knew that you are some hot shot in the world of nobility," she said, making Byakuya raise his eyebrows again. Her approach of his status was like no one has ever spoken to him before. He would not have allowed it from anyone before, but the way she put it was rather refreshing. "And I knew that you were good enough to be a seated officer in a, what I always guessed to be your grandfather's, division." She took a sip of her tea. "But I don't know anything about _you_, the person you, not the shinigami with special blood, but the _you_ you."

Byakuya was completely dumbfounded. The _you _you? Who cared? Why would that interest her? She knew about his amazing skills and she knew what future awaited him, and with that, what could be _her_ future. What did it matter what he was interested in himself?

"I do not understand your question," Byakuya admitted. He left Hisana speechless for a few seconds and then she started laughing. "You amuse me, Byakuya-sama."

He noticed the change in addressing him: she had gone from using his family name to using his own name. He liked it.

"Then answer this," Hisana said, after taking another sip of her tea. Byakuya picked up his own drink and put it to his lips. He had no idea what to expect of the dirty greenish tea, but the sweet aromas made the taking of the first sip less revolting. Upon tasting the tea, his taste buds made little dances. He had always been an avid tea-drinker and he had tasted many different kinds of flavors, but he had never tasted anything as good as this one. He took another sip, a larger one, and nearly burned his tongue. His taste buds had to wait a couple more minutes.

"Tell me… what inspires you to become so strong," Hisana asked.

He had never really considered this, but he knew what to answer. "It is expected of me that I achieve the highest possible control over my strengths and use this to protect the balance of the worlds of souls."

"Yeah yeah," Hisana blew him off. "Not good enough."

"Well," Byakuya said, surprised by her actions, "I do think it helps that I want to protect the people I care about."

"Such as?"

"Such as my cousins," Byakuya answered. He knew the answer before he had to think about it. "They are idiots, but they support me. And, since a few weeks, I have been caring a lot about you."

Hisana's eyed widened and she fell back into the couch. "Oh," she said. "Thanks." She started twisting her glass in her hands.

"Allow me to ask you the same question," Byakuya continued, pretending he was not thrown off by her non-verbal reply.

"You know," she answered, looking around, "I think it's time to go back to campus. It's starting to get dark."

"The sun is still high up in the sky," Byakuya protested, but Hisana stood up and started walking to the door. Byakuya followed, the remains of his delicious tea forgotten. "Let me walk you home."

They returned to campus not long after, without having said much more. Byakuya was going over everything he could have done wrong. It was probably when he told her he cared about her that she wanted to leave, but he had been so subtle about it.

"Thank you for today," Hisana said, bowing quickly. She then turned around and ran inside the large building where academy students lived.

What had he done wrong?


	7. Essays and cafeine

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102, for beta reading!_

Essays and cafeine

It had been a weekend of many emotions to Byakuya. Of course he would never admit this to anyone, but he felt happy and confused at the same time. He simply could not figure out what he could have said that had upset Hisana. After going back over everything he had said to her that afternoon and not finding out what he had done wrong, he realized there must be another reason. Perhaps she had realized how long they had been together and perhaps she thought she was forcing herself unto him. She must have felt out of place, being in The Bachelor Kuchiki's presence for half a day.

It was a valid reason, Byakuya mused; they had walked quite a while before they had entered that café. They had sat for a little while and then made the same walk back. They had been together, without any other company, for at least an entire afternoon.

But, being the gentleman he was, he would make sure that she would learn not to fear being in his company anymore: he would tell her how much he enjoyed their teatime and how much he enjoyed conversing with her. And now that it was Monday, he was sure to see her again. She was a junior student and she had classes fulltime. He knew that the schedules hung at the board near the entrance, where they also keep score on who got the highest results in tests. He would see when she would not have any classes and then look for her in the library. He had found her there once before and so she was bound to be found there again.

He made his way down the halls and into the library (which was closer to his room than he ever realized. He did not know if the amount of students passing his room every day was because of the library or because _he_ stayed there…) and looked around. He remembered her sitting at the back before, where she had been working in her old scrapbook. On the floor. He cringed at the thought.

He passed the bookcases he passed the last time he was there. If he remembered correctly, she sat at the end between the second to last and the last bookcases. He turned around the walls of literature and stopped in his tracks. There she sat, at a table this time, near the windows that looked out over Rukongai. He could not believe how lucky he was: she sat alone and she was radiating with beauty. He took a second to admire his view, but then felt he needed more. He wanted so much more than just to look at her. He needed to hear her voice and he wanted to see that light in her eyes. He wished to see a sparkle of happiness and joy in her eyes as she looked up to him, but so far, that sparkle has been left out.

"Hey," Byakuya heard himself say. He usually did not say that. It was informal and almost rude, but with Hisana, it felt strangely familiar.

She looked up and she gave him a small smile. "Hey."

' .GAWDSH NO WAY IN FREEZING HELL AND FLYING PIGS THAT JUST HAPPENED' was everything that pumped through his mind right. She had actually acknowledged him with the most beautiful 'hey' he had ever heard in his entire life. He grew invisible wings and nearly floated over to her. It took a little while, but not longer than three seconds, before he managed to say something again. "How are you today?"

"I am fine, thank you," she replied. She turned her head back to her project again. "How are you?"

'Happier than a pretty little girl with pink bows drinking rainbow tea with flying kittens and talking bunnies' did not seem appropriate. He would choose to say something else.

"I am excellent, thank you for asking."

The curves of her lips twirled up a bit, but she made no other contact with him. Was she pushing him away again? It was time to show her that he wanted her company and that it was no shame to want his. "If you would allow me, I would like to join you."

"Yeah, sure," Hisana replied, looking up. She grabbed a couple of her books and papers and organized them in a neat stack to make space for him. "What are you working on?"

"What do you want me to work on?" Byakuya said, teasing. Hisana did not understand until she looked up into his mischievously grinning face. Then she burst out laughing. "Goodness, I guess you have a lot of free time on your hands."

Byakuya relaxed. He had not just made her smile, he had made her laugh. He had accomplished the thing he thought impossible for at least another… well, who are we kidding? He knew she would break soon. He needed to reel her in now that she was hooked. "Do you need any help?"

"Well," she replied. She went through her stack and pulled out a paper. "I wrote this last night… it's for extra credit, and I cannot afford to fail this essay. Could you… maybe, if it's not too much trouble, check it for me?"

Kuchiki Byakuya had been on many successful dates with countless women. He had gone through intense training sessions with his captain grandfather. He had once captured a big ass spider with his bare hands to scare his cousin. But those times were _nothing_ compared to how extremely herculean he felt right _now_. She actually needed him. She had asked him to help and no one else. "I will give it my all."

"Such a coincidence," Byakuya said, a couple of hours later. No coincidence at all, of course. Byakuya did not do 'coincidences', he did 'surprise visits I knew about and neener neener you didn't'. "It is lucky I ran into you. I have just finished your essay."

Hisana pushed her tea aside and took the paper from Byakuya. She quickly scanned through it and then put it down with a sigh. "I worked so hard on this and there are still so many mistakes…"

Hearing an invitation in there, Byakuya sat down. "You chose a tough subject to write about. Some third-year students have troubles with this."

She heaved another big sigh and then let her head fall into her hands. She pulled her hair. "This is impossible. I have to hand this in by Wednesday and I don't have any time to edit this today… and I have extra practice in swordsmanship tomorrow…"

"What is eating your time away?" Byakuya asked. Perhaps he could take away some of her stress to give her more time. For dates. And time to think about how much she really _did_ need him. And more dates.

"It's just…" she started. She then pointed to an, which Byakuya had assumed to be, empty chair. But when he looked closer, the chair was filled with more books, papers and drafts of essays. "It's just all these extra assignments teachers gave me…" A choke got hold of her voice. "I am grateful that they give me extra chances to pass their lessons, but it's too much. It's too much, Byakuya-sama, it's just too much."

Her eyes were tearing up.

He could not look away from her anymore. Her eyes looked into his and he was completely captivated by her. "It will be fine, Hisana," he promised her. She shook her head and more tears fell down. In an impulse, Byakuya stood up and swiftly moved to her side. He pulled out a nearby chair and sat it next to hers. Then he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his embrace. She shook against his chest; all he could think about was comforting her. "It will be fine," he promised again.

"How could it be?" she asked between hiccups. "I am way behind on everything. I have no talents whatsoever and my grades are below average even though I study as hard as I can." She sniffed once and grabbed his robes before burying her face in his shoulder.

Byakuya tried as much as he could to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, which were now flying around so recklessly that he was afraid they would soon leave through his nose and other places the sun don't shine. He needed a solution for her. As he heard her sniff once more, he knew. "Do you drink coffee?"

"Wh- what?" she asked, pulling back. She immediately released his robes and pushed herself back into her chair. "Coffee?"

"You will need a lot of coffee."

"So I believe you would go to the library, and I believe you went to get coffee in that campus café," Hisana mused, glancing over to her companion. "But I do not believe that you just happen to cook a decent meal in a small kitchen like the one on campus, and I sure as hell do not believe you do your laundry by yourself. You were looking for me."

They were in her dorm room and they had sat themselves around the small table Hisana used for eating dinner, doing homework and working on her project when the library was too crowded. Hisana had been working on her rewrite of her Kidou essay and Byakuya was summarizing seven chapters of three books for her to study for an upcoming test. He was certain that they could work together to grant her more free time.

Byakuya chucked. "You certainly know how to catch a guy red-handed." He glanced back at her and cherished her grin. "How far are you on your rewrite?"

Hisana put down her pen and collected the four sheets she had shattered over her table. "Read and weep, nerd."

"You did not just call me that," Byakuya said, his eyebrows raised and surprise written all over his face.

"How can you not be a nerd?" Hisana asked. "You get, like, the highest grades ever, I never see you study or train _anywhere,_ and still you find time to help silly first-years who don't know how to work with a schedule. Nerd."

"That's enough coffee for you," was the only reply he could think of. He grabbed the cup out of her hands before she could take another sip. "You are very much affected."

"My head is, like, spinning. Around. And round and round," Hisana twirled her head in little 8-figures to prove her point. "I swear I can smell colors now."

Byakuya grinned. "You should learn to drink this. Acting like this after two cups is unhealthy."

"If I ever pass this first year," Hisana said, suddenly standing up, surprising Byakuya. He had to collect himself before spitting out the sip he just took. "If I pass, I am going to kiss you until your lips fall off of dehydration."

He stared at her. He felt the coffee stream out of the corners of his mouth but he did not think of cleaning it up, or closing his mouth, for that matter. He needed to make her pass this year. More than _ever_. For the happiness of them both.

Before he could finally reply she had thrown herself onto her bed, in a very unattractive way, and she passed out. Byakuya was extremely fascinated by this and he laughed to himself watching her sleep. He stood up and went to adjust her body into a more comfortable position. He pulled the blankets over her body and watched her grab onto them, pulling them halfway over her head. She yawned and then snuggled closer into her pillow.

He could not resist. He wanted to tell her in more ways that he cared about her. He bow down, kissed her gently on her forehead and then allowed himself one more look. Then he turned around and left her room.

All while supporting a blush redder than roses.


	8. What's your deal?

_Thank you, PhantomKnight102__, for beta reading!_

What's your deal?

The few days that followed, Byakuya found himself in Hisana's dorm room more often. He would help her study and write or rewrite essays. He enjoyed himself very much: besides homework, they often talked amongst each other about their lives. He had told her about his youth and how, when he was a little boy, he missed his mother (whom he had never known) so very much that he made her a drawing every single day. Every evening, before bedtime, he and his older cousin would visit the shrine his family had built for their late lady, to burn the drawing so that his mom would receive them wherever she would be. Yes, he had missed his father, he had told Hisana after she inquired after him, but he had been raised by many men. It was the mother figure that had been absent from his life; he had had many father figures. When it was her turn to speak, she told him about the rough life Inuzuri held and how she sometimes dreamt of things that looked so real that she thought her memory was playing games with her.

By the end of Wednesday, she had finished three reports and memorized all the summaries that Byakuya had made for her. They had worked so hard that she was no longer behind on her work and her teachers even praised her. When she had received her 'Above Average'-mark on the first essay that Byakuya checked, she had ran to him with a big smile and thanked him with the deepest bow she could find. He had grabbed her hand to pull her up and, awkwardly, smiled back at her while thinking if this was a proper moment to get a hug. Before he could decide, however, she had another request ready: would he maybe perhaps ifitsnottoomuchtrouble be available to train her in swordsmanship tomorrow?

He had promised her that he would. The second he returned to his own dorm room, he contacted his family that he would not return home that next day and that the two meetings that were arranged had to be rescheduled. He cancelled dinner reservations he had with his cousin and promised he would go with him whenever was convenient.

He had prepared his session with Hisana. He knew her poses and techniques, which were not very impressive. He would help her improve her posture on the battlefield, try more Kidou, help her with the basics of flash step and…

Byakuya stopped in his tracks. He was walking towards the dojo, where he and Hisana had agreed to meet in thirty minutes. If he brought something to eat, he could perhaps turn this into a training session with a small date interlaced in it. They could even continue their training after dinner, as long as they would get out by nine o'clock. Once the dojo was closed, it would remain closed until next morning.

Using shunpo to return to his dorm room, he pondered over what he would bring her. If they wanted to continue training afterwards, it should not be a heavy meal. It should regain their strengths, but it should also be delicious: he could not have their first date to be disastrous because she didn't like what he brought her. He had to guess, anyway, because he had no idea what she liked. He decided he would go for a variety of fruits, for they held sugar and fruits came in many different flavors. If she wanted more food after training, he would simply invite her over to his dorm room and he would show ofuf his amazing cooking skills by making her his famous spaghetti-to-die-for.

Conveniently, that afternoon he had bought quite the assortment of juicy fruits. He gathered apples, pears, grapes and strawberries. There should be _something_ in there she liked, right?

Satisfied with his solution, he made his way back to the dojo. He had fifteen more minutes before Hisana would show up and he used those to prepare. He fashioned a wall out of pit mats, created a couple of targets out of different kinds of material so she would practice with more than one size, and he spread out a blanket with cushions so they could sit comfortably during dinner.

He was just making the final adjustments when his heart jumped upon hearing her voice. "Wow, are you taking training sessions always this serious?"

He turned around and marveled at how she looked. Her hair was up in a ponytail; he had never seen her any different than with her hair down. The playful lock of hair that usually graced her face was clipped back upon her head. She wore the red hakama that came with her academy uniform, but instead of the matching shitagi and kosode she wore a black tank top. She held two wooden swords for sparring in her hands.

"You look stunning even showing up for training," he blurted out. The second he realized he had mouthed his thoughts, he reddened. Hisana chuckled and threw him one of the sparring swords. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan," Byakuya started, catching the sword, "is to start with your positions, followed by your footwork and basic moves. Then, I thought we could have a light fight and afterwards combine it all into a full out dinner."

"A what?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. Byakuya inwardly cursed himself. "I meant a light dinner followed by a fight. With everything you learned. Not a… full out dinner…"

She was not reacting the way he had hoped she would. Had he proposed these plans to any other woman, she would have gone full retard on him. Byakuya caught himself becoming quite amused rather than annoyed by the lack of her reactions. It made him want to work for their relationship even harder.

"Well," Hisana finally answered, "that sounds okay… but I have to leave on time, because I am free from classes tomorrow and I thought I could use the extra time… to… eh you know, catch up with old friends." She grimaced slightly.

"That will be alright," Byakuya answered. "Let's start quickly then, shall we? Take your position."

…

"You've improved," Byakuya complimented when they sat down for dinner. He offered Hisana his personal favorite pillow, which she gratefully took. She sat down on it and then hung over the blanket to rummage through her bag. After taking out a bottle of water, she downed it as if her life depended on it.

"How come…" she panted, "…you're not… so much ex_hausted_… as I am?"

"Hisana, please," Byakuya replied, "I receive training from a captain."

Her eyes flew open and she nearly choked on her water. "I completely forgot! Your grandfather trains you, right?"

"Yes, he does," Byakuya said, not much enthusiasm showing. "He trains me as if I am his lieutenant who should be prepared to take over the division."

"But you're not," Hisana said, using her hands to wipe off any water left on her chin.

"You catch on quick," Byakuya joked. Hisana laughed softly in response.

He took his own bag and emptied it in front of them. "I brought something to eat," he announced. "Have anything you like."

Hisana nodded and took an apple. "Thank you. I can't believe I forgot to bring anything. I was so nervous about this training with you."

"You were?" Byakuya asked, his eyebrows raised. "Why?"

Hisana gulped down her first bite. "Well, I perform below average."

"Your point being?"

"No," Hisana said, playfully. "This is the part where you say: 'that is not true, you are amazing, you surpass me with your great skills' and everything."

Needing a moment to process this, Byakuya sat up straight, looked Hisana into the eyes and said: "You are a wonderful person and you surpass me on every level of humanity I can think of."

There was a deafening silence between them and he could see the color drain from Hisana's cheeks. Which was another interesting thing, because he had sincerely expected her to turn red. He could feel the tension and it nearly choked him. He had to do something. "And you fight well."

There was a tweak in Hisana's eyes and she shook her head. "Sure, something like that." She looked away quickly and then went back to taking another bite of her apple. She refused to make eye-contact in the minutes that followed.

After they had both eaten enough, Byakuya coughed once and then proposed to continue their training. "Just a bit longer, I would like to see if you stuck to your new poses."

Hisana quietly obliged and stood. They trained for another couple of minutes, after which Byakuya allowed himself to say that she had done well, Hisana gathered her belongings. She picked up her back and then turned to Byakuya. "Thank you for training me."

"You're welcome," Byakuya answered. He felt slightly nauseated. He should know by now that being so forward makes her feel uncomfortable. Why, _why why why_ had he said that?

"I will see you on Monday," Hisana said before turning around and walking towards the doors. She pushed the handle and then stopped in her tracks. She pushed again and again and then started shaking the handles harder. "No, no!" she said, defeat in her voice.

Byakuya, who had just picked up the sparring swords, turned to look at her. He instantly knew he had to look to the clock next: it was a quarter past nine. He had not thought to check the time for a mere second. "Are they closed?"

"Yes," she answered, turning around and letting herself fall to the ground. "I can't stay here, I really have to go…"

"Let's make the best of it," Byakuya tried to make her feel better. "It's closed until tomorrow eight in the morning."

"No, you don't understand," Hisana started. "I _have_ to go."

He liked her very much, but he felt a twinge of annoyance. "It's locked. We can't do anything but wait until it opens again."

Hisana sighed and buried her face in her hands. He felt guilty now, for being blunt with her, and to make up he pushed one of the mats over to create a large and soft place to sit on. "Looks like we'll be crashing here."

Hisana sighed again.

"Where would you like to sleep?" Byakuya asked. "The mat, the floor or my arms?" He inwardly beat himself to pulp for adding the last one, but perhaps, just perhaps, he had made her smile again. He would give _anything_ to see her smile, even a little.

But she didn't smile. She avoided eye contact and her face looked like a thunderstorm.

"Listen," Byakuya started. "I wish I could get you out. But let's make the best of it, because we cannot open those doors tonight."

"I am done listening to you," Hisana spoke softly. "If you hadn't insisted on practicing again after eating, I would have been out of here by now."

"That is unfair," Byakuya stated. "I have helped you with everything you needed help with. I could not foresee this turn of the night."

"I'll sleep in the storage room," Hisana said, standing up. Her eyes were red. "I really don't want to see you right now."

"Hisana," Byakuya said, his voice raising. "You cannot blame me for this. I really prefer to sleep in my own bed."

"Just… just leave me for now, okay?" She walked away. But before she could close the door, Byakuya replied, "I really do not deserve to be treated like this, Hisana."

She slammed the door shut.

Angry and very annoyed, Byakuya released a flash of Kidou on one of the targets. It went up in flames before exploding with a loud BOOM. Then he went to turn off the lights and positioned himself on the mat. It was going to be a long night.

Especially if he had to listen to her sob herself to sleep.


End file.
